This invention relates to the art of transportation and more particularly to a universal propulsion powerplant and impulse drive unit for propelling, lifting, guiding and braking vehicles.
Concepts exist in the prior art which convert the output torque of a power source into linear impulses for propelling, lifting, guiding and braking vehicles by the process of varying the radial distance of a rotating mass (having a constant angular velocity) from its center of rotation.
The prior art concepts are exemplified by the patents of Grossfield U.S. Pat. No. 3,365,012, Cuff U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,700, Srogi U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,918, Melnick U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,212, Trivellin No. 573,912 (Italy) and Van Der Schaar No. 81,820 (Netherland).
Although the above concept for converting torque into linear impulse exists in the prior art, there are a number of areas where it is deficient in meeting the needs of a commercially acceptable apparatus for propelling, lifting, guiding and braking a vehicle.
By way of example, the Trivellin patent discloses an apparatus where masses are constrained by a circular ring while they rotate about an axis which is eccentric with the center of the ring. The deficiency with this arrangement is that when the masses move outwardly from the center of rotation so as to increase their kinetic energies, they exert forces on the circular ring in an opposite direction to the motion of a vehicle to which the apparatus may be applied.
The Van Der Schaar patent discloses another deficiency which exists in some of the prior art. A pair of contra-non-coplanar rotating members drive masses along endless non-co-planar orbits wherein the radial distances of the masses from the axes of rotation vary to produce linear impulses which can be used for propelling, lifting, guiding or braking a vehicle. Although the shape of the orbits in Van Der Schaar is improved over Trivellin, forces exist which will oppose a vehicle to which the apparatus is applied. In addition, the non-coplanar orbits of masses produce undesirable couples which act normal to the line of action of the linear impulse output of the unit.
Another deficiency in the prior art is the absence of provisions for reducing the gyroscopic couple which is inherent because of the rotating masses during angular changes of the axis of rotation of the masses when the directions of applied vehicles are undergoing changes.
A further deficiency in some of the prior art is an absence of some means for changing the direction of the linear impulse output whereby vehicles can be alternatively propelled, lifted, guided and braked by a common apparatus.
Yet another deficiency in the prior art is the lack of a suitable configuration for a compact powerplant which embodies the foregoing concept and is adaptable to the spaces and configurations of applicable vehicles.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated although a concept exists in the prior art for converting the torque of a power source into linear impulse by the process of varying the radial distances of rotating masses from their centers of rotation, numerous advances are required to provide an apparatus which is commercially acceptable.